EU contract with AstraZeneca on Covid-19 jabs to run out in June

The European Union has not extended a contract for Covid-19 vaccines with British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Sunday.

"We have not extended the order beyond the month of June," Breton told French broadcaster France Inter with regards to AstraZeneca.

"We will see. We will see what happens," he said.

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine has been linked with a very rare risk of potential blood clots, especially for younger women, resulting in some countries restricting its use to only older age groups.

Breton expressed a positive view about the quality of AstraZeneca's shot.

"This is a good vaccine," he said.

On Saturday, the European Commission struck a deal with Covid-19 vaccine producer Pfizer/BioNTech to buy up to 1.8 billion additional doses until 2023.